The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-02-10
METALLIC FREAKS.
Queer Forms Assumed by the Molten Sill
yer Dropped on Marble Slabs.

yer Dropped on Marble Slabs.
Chicago Herald. Il
Ten yeai ago this winter / stood
in the big California stamp mill at
Virginia City, New, watching the
sixty ponderous 25O-pound weights
laundering on the quartz. The
pulp was being stirred in the great
pans; the tailings were going down
fume like a mill-race. At each
settling pan was a large canvass
bag held in vice-like grip. was
invited to thrust my hand into one
of them. I did so, and brought up
great handful of something that
was as heavy and as elusive as
quicksand.
THAT said old Senator Fair,
then superintendent of the Big Be-
nanza mine, "is amalgamated qnick-
silver and gold and silver. We put
that in redhot retorts. The quick
silver passes off in vapor, is caught
and precipitated and the bullion
comes out in a blackened but solid
mass. Now come down to the re-
fining-room and I'll show you
something. Dive ever see how sill
Yer sp' eads when You drop it? l
can't do this as we'll as ia like to,
for there to much gold; this stuff
runs As per cent. gold, and it's too
heavy to work as I'd like it,
Senator Fair led the way to a
room in q brick building adjacent,
where two great caldrons were DO IL
ing and bubbling. "There's half a
million in each of those" said Mr..
Fair. Johnny, clear this table
and get me two blocks of ice.
The ice was brought and the
blocks were placed foot apart on
the iron bed. When all was chilled
Mr.. Fair said: "Give me g fifty
ounce ladle.' The latter was dip
ped into one of the caldrons and
came up with pint of white, mol
ten fluid. Now WATCH" said Mr..
Fair. He held it up high as his
arms would reach, and dropped i,
on the cod slab between the cakes
OF ice. He dropped in splotches Of
little more than tablespoonful
each. The effect was marvellous
AS the liquid silver and gold fell
its weight scattered it into ten thou
sand conceivable shapes, and the
cold chill so suddenly applied con-
gealed it into one hundred thou
sands in conceivable shapes 10 an in
slant. There were splatters and
spatches and all sorts of things
Where a single drop would fall i
would expand to either a coacf
wheel or cobweb, as the freaE
would take it. If Mr.. Fair dropped
a SPOONFUL next the cake of ice thu
spashes would: rise, catch on thu
ice, and make a perfect little wir,
forest. 1t was one of the mos
beautiful sights the writer had ev
er seen.
"Jewelers and silyersmiths, "EsaiC
Mr. Fair, "get good many of tnai
ideas fIom just such idiosyncracie
of silver bullion. l have held it u
before now, dropped it, aud see
come out the oldest and most SUI
prising fo!ms. Lou Hamilton Jones
brothor-in-iaw, has complet
coach add four and hounds behind
the result of just one slash on a cak
of ice down at the Beicher. Cd
things in silver2 Oh, the silver
smiths are more perfect THAI "
are, but I'll bet I can hold this Ia
die NJ, d5op the whole of it on tbs
cold slab, and you will see a .variet
Of forms, devices and g'otesque
such as you never dreamed 0
Johnny give me fresh ladle. Nov
of stabd away Here she goes?" an
re piut Of molten silver went out @
ID the table.
M M Ten thousand shapes and il
Ms shapes. and ten thousand form
It we're there. There were forests az
= stTesms. and BIRDS aud reptiles, an
rocks and mountains. To ha1
picked out all would have been
IL weeks task.
Chuck it back into the pan
sid Mr.. Fair. "Give me anotht
adle. Now watch this,'
Down it went on the Geld sla
There were elephants and giraffe
and lions and dogs, and Africs
bungalows, and on one splatch
marching regiment could have bee
made out by but trihing strett
g of the imagination.